The Master Tournament
by EeveeKitty
Summary: Ash returned to Pallet Town in fairly low spirits after his loss to Tobias in the Sinnoh League. Later that day, all of his traveling companions visit Ash with some news that causes him to leave Pallet once and for all to train in seclusion. Five years later, a new name arises in the prestigious tournament held every ten years and easily makes a name for himself.
1. Return Home Part 1

"Well, I guess we're back buddy." Ash stated, lacking the infectious excitement that he usually carried. His posture was slumped, and he seemed to have been sulking recently. He glanced over at the small yellow rodent hanging off his shoulder, who was nodding in agreement to the comment.

"Pika!" The mouse cheered, before staring at his trainer in concern. "Pikapi? Chu pi pika?" Ash laughed lightly at the worry coming from his best friend. His Pokémon were so loyal and he loved them more than anything else.

"Don't worry about it Pikachu. I'll be fine. I guess really I'm just blaming myself, you know? I mean, we could have had a better chance at winning if I wasn't just so lost in my thoughts…"

"Pikachu chupi pika! Pi pikachu chu Pikapi!" The Electric-type protested. The teenager blinked, before a grin came over his face.

"You mean that it wasn't my fault? If anyone should be blamed, it would be you since you were doing the same as me? Pikachu, I appreciate it, but I can't throw everything on you like that. How about we're both at fault?" He suggested lightheartedly. The Pokémon's face lit up, and he nodded vigorously. Ash laughed. His partner always knew how to cheer him up.

As he walked down the hill, he remembered something else. Turning around, he saw the confused expression on Pikachu's face and decided to enlighten him.

"I wanted to check on Pidgeot. I mean, the last time I saw her was after the Orange Archipelago when I went to get her, but things came up and she had to stay longer than she first anticipated. I was sad, but I let her stay since she's the leader of the flock and it's her job to protect them. But I want to see after all this time how she's doing. Who knows, maybe she'll rejoin the team…"

Pikachu looked up at Ash and saw a genuine smile on his face as he talked. The mouse was glad that his friend had some of his happiness again, even if it was only temporary.

* * *

When they got to the forest, Ash sighed. "Man, I forgot how hard it is to travel through here, much less looking for a bird that could be anywhere…"

"Pika…" The Pokémon whined.

After a while of getting lost every which way, there was a screech above them and the duo looked up, startled.

In their sight was a large avian Pokémon with glossy, brown and cream feathers. On the bird's head was a red and yellow crest that was almost as long as the Pokémon's body. There were red, fan-like tail feathers and black angular markings around the eyes.

Gracefully, the Pidgeot descended, landing right in front of the two. Recognition flashed in their eyes after they took a closer look, and they did a double take.

"Pidgeot? Is that you?" Ash finally asked, albeit tentatively, to which the bird happily confirmed his suspicions by nuzzling her face against his cheek.

"Hey! Stop that!" Ash said while laughing. This brought a smile to Pikachu's face as he watched the scene with amusement from the ground. He had jumped off when the large Flying-type had still been airborne, and was not regretting his decision.

After the fated reunion the three went to seek out the flock. The psychotic Fearow leader had been caught by a trainer years ago, and Pidgeot only stayed there and helped just because she was unsure and wanted to be cautious. Of course, there were no qualms at all for her decision to stay, and many Pidgeot had even wanted her to go out and travel a bit. Every time they brought it up, however, she would refuse.

She also didn't leave because she just had a gut feeling that the time after his adventure in the Orange Islands wasn't the last time she would see her trainer.

She had been right.

* * *

As Ash waited for the flock to talk it out about Pidgeot's desire to go with him, he thought that out of the corner of his eye he saw that every other Pidgeot was practically shoving her out of the tree. His vision proved right after a brief moment, as it became clear that there were in fact Pidgeot who were pushing her out. They looked overjoyed, and Ash wondered what it was that caused them to be so happy. He could only come to the conclusion that they had wanted their leader to travel some before, but she didn't leave – it at least definitely wasn't that she wasn't wanted in the flock, since they had kept her for so long as leader, it was obvious they'd let her stay as long as she liked.

Ash watched with a smile and Pikachu snickered at the sight. A few squawks and a capture later, and the teenager was peacefully sitting on the avian's back and gripping the mouse firmly in his arms.

"Alright Pidgeot, let's fly!"

* * *

 **A/N: Alright, new story! Okay, I'm sorry that I keep publishing more and more stories since that makes it hard to update any and all of them. Everyone, blame my always-working brain!**

 **Thanks for reading and please review! Criticism is always welcome!**


	2. Return Home Part 2

The residents of Pallet Town watched with varying expressions on their faces, the most common being one of awe and excitement.

A smiling fourteen-year-old holding a yellow mouse jumped off of the majestic bird. Breaking the silence that had come as soon as the first onlooker saw the Pidgeot, Ash stretched and rubbed her head. She cooed happily as he talked.

"Great job, Pidgeot, that was really amazing!" He praised. She ruffled her feathers and held her head high in pride.

They all became aware of the crowd that surrounded them, and Ash shuffled nervously.

"Uh… Okay then…"

Little children often dreaming of becoming Pokémon trainers swarmed the area where Ash was standing as soon as they realized he had taken notice of them. It became a jumbled mess and Ash was tripping over a lot of legs as he tried to make his way out of the mass of people alive.

* * *

After Ash somehow found his way out of the crowd of doom and returned the great bird, with Pikachu back on his shoulder he made his way to the infamous laboratory and Pokémon Ranch. Walking up the dirt path, he reminisced all of his journeys – smiling fondly and almost wistfully at the more enjoyable ones while frowning as he remembered his worst moments in life. He was unconsciously scratching his most treasured partner on the head all the while.

He made a face as he recalled his loss to Tobias, but it left his mind as a familiar burst of happiness came rushing through to him by reminding himself that Pidgeot had rejoined his team. Determination made itself known to all who were watching them, and as Pikachu looked at his friend's face, the mouse grinned – complete with a thumbs-up and a cheerful "Pika!"

Ash flashed the mouse a smile, one that was instantly returned, and put his hands behind his head. "Man, I can't wait to see Mom again, can you?"

"Pi? Pikachu, chupi pika!" He replied with a shake of his head. Ash chuckled.

"Yeah? You miss her too but only because she strangles me? Wow, what a friend you are…"

Pikachu laughed.

After a minute, he came up with an idea. Mentioning this to Ash, and being sure to add in that it was good, he waited for the teenager's response. Ash took a brief moment to register in his mind what his mischievous partner had told him, and then put his face in his hands.

"Pikachu…" He groaned out, "I'm not listening to this so-called idea of yours, especially if you believe it to be a good one. The last time you told me and I agreed to it, what happened?"

Pikachu muttered something in his defense which Ash translated to, "I didn't know that I would destroy the whole entirety of the forest by training…"

Ash laughed, amused. It was a cheerful noise, contradictory to the depression he was in not two hours ago. Knowing that, despite the accusation placed on him, Pikachu had to crack a happy smile. A few minutes later, he realized his plan to cheer up his trainer had worked in the long run, but his former idea couldn't happen anymore. It was too short a distance to get much enjoyment out of racing from where they were.

' _Besides, it's not like you can race when you're on the last step of your destination,'_ The Electric-type thought, noticing idly that his trainer had already walked up the staircase to Professor Oak's lab.

Knocking, Ash saw too late a doorbell at the left side of the door. At first he felt slightly embarrassed, but then he pointedly shrugged it off, thinking silently that Oak could get over it.

That changed quickly when none other than Gary appeared in the doorway, hands on his hips and frowning. His white labcoat was billowing a bit due to the wind from outside. "Yes? I'm sorry, but we're quite busy with– Ashy-boy! You're back!" Catching himself mid-sentence, he gave a smile at his childhood friend and lost all professionalism that he previously had.

"Yeah, I am. You are too, apparently." Ash replied, doing his best to grin but not fully managing it. Gary became worried at the lack of…well, anything and everything positive, but didn't comment, instead saying that his friends were at his house and wanted to talk.

When Ash pestered the other for details, Gary said, "I don't know what it's about…all I know is that they came to me and asked me to tell you that when you get back, they wanted to talk about something."

Ash nodded. "Alright. Bye Gary, see ya later!"

"Pikapika!" The mouse waved to the brunet.

"Umbre!" Came the unexpected shout of farewell.

Ash glanced down at the young Oak's feet to be met with a black fox with yellow rings around the ears, body, legs, and tail. The black eyes shone in the sunlight reflecting off of them.

Gary chuckled and rubbed the Dark-type on the head. "He really loves attention a lot. Although, I don't exactly blame him. He was ignored for the whole five minutes you've been here, up until now."

"Whoops, sorry about that Umbreon." Ash said as he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Pikachu did the same, the habit having had rubbed off on him as he apologized in his own native tongue.

Umbreon happily accepted the given apology, and to everyone's relief, no hard feelings were formed.

As Ash dashed off to his mom's house, Pikachu staying behind to greet the others of his kind, he couldn't help but feel that something bad would happen soon. Shrugging off the haunting feeling, he thought more positive ones.

' _What am I worried about? This is Brock, Misty, May, Max, and Dawn I'm thinking about! They aren't going to tell me off or something…are they? Arceus dammit! Why am I questioning myself? Of course they wouldn't! They're my friends! But…when something tells me something bad is going to happen, it's usually unavoidable and happens in the area…so…'_

Ash was spared thinking by realizing that he'd already walked down the hill and now stood in front of the door to his house. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the worst, and opened it.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, the next chapter is up! Sorry for the wait everyone, thanks for reading, and be sure to review!**


	3. The Betrayal

**A/N: And it's the chapter you've been waiting for…probably…! Anyway, R &R!**

* * *

Ash stepped inside, and found his five friends smiling at him. At first he took it as a good sign, that they were happy for him, and were going to congratulate him or something.

That was until he saw their faces looked strained, like they were forced smiles. Again, he felt that seed of doubt grow in him, but he pushed it down. Nevertheless, he gave an audible gulp.

"H-hey guys, w-where's Mom? And what are you doing here?" Ash asked in the calmest voice he could manage.

"Your mom's shopping, but she let us in so we could talk with you. We wanted to tell you about something important, Ash." Brock said in an uncharacteristically serious voice. Ash found himself again gulping.

"Go on," He urged, but tensed himself.

"Ash, we want you to stop trying to become a Master." Misty said coldly, no emotion in her voice. Brock nodded with his face set in stone. May, Max, and Dawn all nodded as well in agreement, but they seemed pleased at the sudden emotions that came upon the boy's face.

Ash had shock, horror, and another emotion that seemed vaguely like sadness. However, what surprised all of them was the fact that there was no anger. He couldn't utter a sound, but he didn't need to. His face said it all.

 _Why?_

Max snorted. "Why?" He asked incredulously. "You're wondering why? How stupid _are_ you? I mean, you can't win any official leagues and plus your adventures have almost killed us in the past! We're lucky to even be alive, no thanks to you!" He ranted.

Ash got a cold gleam in his eye. "Oh, really Max?" He said quietly. "Well, if it weren't for me then you'd've never had the chance to become the trainer you are today. You knew the risks and chose to stay. Also, what if Jirachi caught you saying that. Then what?" He asked, still using his eerily quiet voice.

"Shut up! Don't talk to my brother that way! You know it's true, that you've risked our lives with Legendaries!" May snapped.

Ash laughed, a cold, harsh laugh that made everyone listening shiver. "To think, that came from the girl who a Legendary imprinted on. What would happen, do you think, if Manaphy heard what you're saying to me, someone who she sees as her dad? How do you think she'd react to her Mama then May?"

The brunette was about to retort when she closed her mouth and sat in silence, tears forming at her eyes.

"Misty, Dawn, Brock. Why do you think this time I lost the Lily of the Valley Conference? Brock, you should know this one the best." Ash said emotionlessly.

However, the three weren't listening, despite their gut feeling that throwing insults weren't going to get them anything assuring. As they kept calling him names and complaining about how they were put in the middle of danger, they didn't notice that Ash was walking towards the door.

Max was the first to see it, but by then Ash was already halfway through to the outside. Even so, the young trainer wouldn't let his former idol get away so easily.

"Get back here, you coward!" He called in a desperate attempt to rile up the veteran. Although that would have no doubt worked had it been not five years ago, nowadays it was futile to anger the trainer with resorting to such a petty trick as name-calling.

"Coward? As if. I know my limits, and besides, I don't have any Pokémon on me right now." He said dismissively as he kept walking out. The five gave chase and followed him outside towards a small clearing near the woods.

Ash turned around and everyone saw him forming a sphere of pure energy. The azure ball glowed and everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Aura…" Brock whispered.

"Yeah. Aura. I'm a Guardian, but you're probably too stupid to know what that is." Ash said bitterly.

"Hey! Who are you, calling us stupid?! You're the one who's stupid! You and your weak Pokémon!" Max said smugly, seemingly not scared in the least of the fact that the boy he was facing could use Aura. He was, however, terrified and only put on a brave face.

Ash turned and faced the group with an enraged expression on his face, one that would make Paul wary. "You can call me all you want, but no one, _no one_ , calls my Pokémon weak!"

The group all involuntarily shivered at his tone of voice, but Max decided to be a smart ass.

"Well, it's true, you know. You _are_ weak!"

Everyone wanted to tell him to shut up, but stayed silent at the murderous rage that overcame Ash. His body was engulfed in red, but before anything else could happen, a bright light appeared in front of him.

* * *

Arceus was pondering, as he always did. He thought about many things, but the one on his mind that day was their Chosen, Ash Ketchum.

The boy had such a pure heart, it was almost unnatural. His Aura was brighter than any other living thing out there, and he was furious at the moment–

…wait.

The Alpha Pokémon could feel a disturbance in the world, and he would bet that their Chosen was involved in it. Drifting over to his Reflection Pool, he peered into it, at the same time calling all of his children into the room.

His throat dried at what he saw.

" _H-hey guys, w-what are you doing here?" Ash said._

" _We wanted to talk to you about something important, Ash." Brock replied. Ash seemed to swallow hard, before urging them on and tensing._

" _Ash," A redhead started, "we want you to stop trying to become a Master." Ash looked at all five as if he were being tortured._

 _A young boy continued. "Why? You're wondering why? How stupid_ are _you? I mean, you can't win any official leagues and plus your adventures have almost killed us in the past! We're lucky to even be alive, no thanks to you!"_

By now, the Legendaries were all in the room, watching with rage and sadness as the conversation persisted.

" _How could Max say that?"_ Jirachi cried feebly.

" _And Mama! Why?!"_ Manaphy wailed pitifully, already in tears by what May had spoken.

 _I never trusted Ash's friends, and this is all the more reason to hate humanity._ Mewtwo said with a calm demeanor, however inside he was furious.

They all turned back to the water just as Ash's Aura flared up and Max called his Pokémon weak. Their eyes collectively widened and there was no doubt that they had to do something. Arceus knew that, as did the others, and so he teleported Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie, Jirachi, Manaphy, and Suicune to help.

* * *

When the blinding flash was gone, there in the clearing stood six Legendaries, five protectively standing around Ash in a circle, and the sixth floating joyfully next to him before sending a dark glare towards the five other humans.

"Suicune!" Misty gasped excitedly. At the same time, the other Legendaries' names rang in the forest. Ash lost the red Aura surrounding him as he looked on in shock and surprise at the six unexpected Pokémon.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" He asked, bewildered.

 _Ash, we want to help you._ Azelf stated simply as he kept his glare at the others. Dawn and Brock withered.

"B-but…" Dawn stammered, "you too Mesprit, Uxie?" The two Legendaries nodded firmly.

"Manaphy! How could you?!" May cried.

 _May! How could you dishonor us like that!_ She shot back. _If you hadn't, nor harmed Papa, our Chosen, then we wouldn't be here!_

"Chosen?" Max asked, confused, but his inquiry went unanswered.

 _Max, why?_ Jirachi whimpered. _Why are you doing this? I thought…I thought you were my friend, but if you're going to harm Ash like that…_

Before anyone could have any time to process anything, Suicune nudged Ash, who took the hint and leapt onto her back silently. They all vanished into the forest.

"Wait! What about my Pokémon?!" Ash exclaimed frantically.

 _Do not worry Ash. They will meet you when you get back._ Azelf reassured.

Ash blinked, before asking, "Wait, I don't understand. Why are you helping me? I mean, I appreciate it, but I'm still curious…" He rambled. The blue Legendary currently snuggled in his arms giggled cutely.

 _Papa! We're helping because we want to! Arceus felt a disturbance, and so he wanted to see what was wrong and found you…and them…_

"Oh. Alright. So, where are we going?" Ash asked, smoothly changing the topic to a lighter-hearted one and swiftly ridding the building tension.

 _Oh, well that's easy. The Hall of Origin._ Uxie answered quickly.

No sooner was that said before Suicune stopped bounding along the forest floor. A faint glow surrounded them, growing ever stronger until it engulfed the seven beings completely.

A flash, and they were gone from sight.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks everyone for reading! Tell me what you liked, and if there was anything that I could improve.**

 **Seriously, at the moment there are literally no reviews to this story! It's so annoying that I can't get feedback! For the two chapters already posted, I asked people to review. So what do they do? They ignore my plea. :(**

 **Oh, and last chapter. Umbreon. Please don't say that it's supposed to be a girl. I usually have Gary's Umbreon as a female, but I think it's more fitting to have it be a male since I plan on having Ash catch a female Espeon and them, you know…**


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